Originals: Spirit of Love by C.O.B. (covered by Damon & Naomi)

C.O.B. - Spirit of Love (1971)
I managed to miss posting an 'Original' this week - luckily next up is Spirit of Love which I've already posted before, twice! So I can re-purpose those earlier posts...

Clive Palmer was in the Incredible String Band for their first album in 1966, he then went on a trip to India and Afghanistan and when he came back decided to not rejoin the band, moved to Cornwall and carried on making music. In the early 70s he formed C.O.B. (Clive's Original Band) which recorded two albums, the first of which, in 1971, was called Spirit of Love...Spirit of Love - C.O.B.

In March 1997 Damon & Naomi played their first London show at the tiny 12 Bar Club. I still remember that show with a mixture of bliss and discomfort but the most enduring of the blissful memories is the instrument that Naomi used. A sruti box is a simple one pitch harmonium that produces a beautiful drone.

In the July 1997 issue of Ptolemaic Terrascope Damon & Naomi gave an interview which showed off the still tender wounds of the Galaxie 500 split. As a fan it was a hard read. Up until that point I was blissfully unaware of just how sad the split was.

The 7" single that came with the magazine featured Damon & Naomi doing a cover of C.O.B.‘s Spirit of Love, a sweet folk ditty sung over that lovely monotone sruti box drone. And because of that and because of the fond memories of that first Damon & Naomi show, Spirit of Love is one of my favourite Damon & Naomi tracks.